Linux Mint is a community-driven Linux distribution based on Debian and Ubuntu that strives to be a "modern, elegant and comfortable operating system which is both powerful and easy to use." Linux Mint provides full out-of-the-box multimedia support by including some proprietary software and comes bundled with a variety of free and open-source applications. The project was conceived by Clément Lefèbvre and is being actively developed by the Linux Mint Team and community.

aomega

ZCee

13 users found this useful.

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I do not use Mint on a server and cannot make a comment. I left Windows 10 completely about 1 1/2 years ago and I have never been so content with an operating system as I am now with Linux Mint. MATE's environment can be customised in ways that Microsoft can only dream about and it is so easy to do. There is very little(if any) command line needed and any noob can will not have a problem using Mint. PTL!!! Enjoy!

ZCee

26 users found this useful.

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I have been working on computers for myself and other for over 30 years. I made the "complete" switch to Mint over a year ago and I must say that Microsoft has a lot of catching up to do. Good job Mint developers and keep up the good work!

Steafano Zannoni

38 users found this useful.

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Linux Mint 19.3 is one of the most stable and polished distros available. It is made to just work and get out of the way. Graphically is top notch. Flatpak support and .deb support delivers you the possibility to have all the apps you desire in desktop-land.
I love the cinnamon de because is easy to read, to navigate, is lightweight and no quirkiness. Overall the best to work and go to bed serene.

StarbuckTech

J.Palmer

70 users found this useful.

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Great distro. Easy to use. I have been using Linux Mint every day for about 4 years on a Lenovo ThinkPad laptop. I use the Cinnamon desktop environment with custom themes for icons and DE. I love the update function, and it is very easy to search for help as Mint is based on Ubuntu, one can find help both in the Mint and Ubuntu forums.

New to Linux and landed on Linux Mint on my 3rd distro hop. I ran a couple more but came back to LM because to me it just looks better. I'm using an old HP mini pc with 4gb and a Pentium 8355u, it was almost unusable with Windows 10. Switch to Ubuntu, LM, Peppermint, MX and it just works better. It becomes a usable machine that doesn't feel like something from decades past. I loved how fast Peppermint booted and ran, but I could never get it to look quite the way I wanted, same with Ubuntu. The Cinnamon flavor of LM though works well and looks great. I'm sure there's something else out there, but for a noob learning his way around the command line, I feel like this DE provides the best balance of speed, performance, and visual appeal. You're pre-loaded with almost everything you need for your workflow, and it can give old tired hardware new life, what's not to like?

I am testing 19.2 on a old HP desktop. I have used LM cinnamon before in the passed on my thinkpad functios as it should no complains. I was shocked that it discovered my network printer and added it automatically. Though it did not activate the printer which I found odd.
I fine LM is stable and reliable OS. They are fixing an issue with their update manager hopefully in the mint 20.

Mario

Ryan

86 users found this useful.

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Linux Mint has always been that distro that is basically Ubuntu with Cinnamon on top. I mean it's fine, it looks good, the software selection was less spammy (back in the day when the Ubuntu software centre was horrible). But it did have that one time when the iso was compromised...and it kinda doesn't appeal to me although the desktop environment is very polished, that's about all it has going for it.

Linux Mint is a definitely good choice for any desktop user. It is made with this in mind. Probably a decent choice for some IoT devices and mini computers but there are better choice for that. And of course not a good choice for the server market. This is no what is it designed for.
But for the Dekstop it is elegant, smooth and functional. Best cases in favor would be the Cinnamon DE and the Nemo file manager. They provide an ideal balanced between usability and function. Plus the team behind the project have proven to be be very reasonable, quite reliable and decent at improving and correcting mistakes.

Saif.Pk

113 users found this useful.

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The Best Linux, if you are coming from windows, and just want a system that works. It's stable, workable and easy to adjust to. There are a few things you will like about it. First, if you want a workflow better than Windows you can use the same keyboard shortcuts and can add so many others easily. Second, adding software is very easy [without using command line]. Third, if you use MS Office, then you can install Crossover (or Wine) and office will feel 100% like windows.

Azurill_used_splash

130 users found this useful.

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Mint's got the solid underpinnings of Debian and Ubuntu behind it. Where it really stands out is its ease of use and the sheer perfection of the Cinnamon Desktop Environment as the Platonic Ideal of what a 'Desktop Interface' should be.

Mike P

89 users found this useful.

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I really like the Mint take on Ubuntu, my only real problem which is hardware based, is that thru Mint 14, 16, and 18.04 all LTS versions, my HP DV7 Intel I3 with Nvidea GE Force 1Gb dedicated graphics card with the proprietary drivers installed, always runs extremely hot and sucks battery life quickly. I can run Ubuntu proper, Mate, Kubuntu with no problems If Mint could fix this issue I would use it full time!

Rudy Owen

119 users found this useful.

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Linux Mint is the most put together GNU/Linux desktop experience out there. It does use some proprietary software. If you are a purist this isn't the distro for you. Linux Mint works and works well. I use it to run my business and I couldn't be more pleased with the entire experience. 10/10

Sedwick

70 users found this useful.

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I've had experience with a number of distro's- big fan of Arch. However, I have little time nor tolerance for unplanned system failures. Hence, LM Xfce has remained my go-to distro for over six years. Can't say enough good about it. Yet, I will insert one caveat. LM's longevity "feels" rather precarious in light of the somewhat uncertain course that Canonical has charted during the past five or so years. Of course, LM has positioned LMDE to fill the gap if need be. But, that's another story. I still heartily recommend Linux Mint. As always, IMHO.

leeston

95 users found this useful.

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Having distro hoped / tried in VM's numerous times, I've found nothing better than Linux Mint. Its an easy transition from Windows, has a nice crisp look and feel about it, navigation and making changes to the look / feel are easy. Been using Linux Mint now for over 8 years, NEVER crashed and I use it every day, easy to use as daily driver. Its that easy, I got my 75 year old mother in-law using it - Never get a call for help as its so easy to use after training. Available software is great and it just does what is says on the tin, no fuss.
In terms of improvements, would like to see the boot time a bit quicker and see the opening of an application a bit quicker for the first time but its minor.

sleepyeyesvince

116 users found this useful.

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I used/have been using Linux Mint Cinnamon as a new user trying to replace Windows for the past 12 months. The best thing it has going for it is that it just works out of the box. I've tried it on many machines from a generic i5-6500 desktop (AMD graphics), to an HP elitebook 9480m (i5-4310U), Intel NUC (Pentium N3700) and even an HP T520 thin client and they all just worked! To top it all off, 3 months ago I put a completely non-technical user on Linux Mint 19.1 and she just picked it up. I have had zero questions from her in that time. I left her machine on automatic updates and it has been rock solid stable.

PJO

109 users found this useful.

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Like many I switched to Mint when Ubuntu introduced Unity. It was a nice idea but neither ready nor for me. I use the Cinnamon desktop with Mint and prefer it to anything else I've tried. For a Windows user it's an easy move. There's a lot to like about Mint, but the thing I like best is the immense respect for the user of Clem, the lead developer. His decisions have been excellent, showing good strategic long term thinking and ethics. Many deride Mint as a beginner's distro, but the truth is it just gets out of the way and one rarely needs to think about it. And if one ever does have an issue, installing on new hardware e.g., the Mint community is very helpful. The fact that it's based on Ubuntu and in turn on Debian means there's a huge further amount of installable software and support available. I've helped several people move from Windows to Mint after negative experiences with Windows 10 migrations and none have asked to go back (moving to Firefox and Thunderbird first is a great way to make it relatively painless).

Linux Mint is definitely my favorite Linux distro. I have recommended it to many friends, and they all say that it is their favorite distro now. Linux Mint makes it very easy to set things like drivers up because it asks you which drivers you want to use at first boot (take for example, Nvidia graphics card drivers). Also, Linux Mint is fantastic for people who are switching from Windows, because the overall feel of Linux mint is very similar to Windows, without all of the bloat of course. Linux Mint feels very snappy, even on my 10-year-old computer that has an Intel i3 and 8 gb of RAM.
I could also see this being a good operating system to move parents to if you don't want to troubleshoot their tech issues because it's intuitive and easy to use.
Overall, I love this distro and I will continue to use it as long as it continues to be updated.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Give it a try if you haven't yet :-)

I'm not sure there's a better, easier to use desktop distribution out there. I keep coming back to it when I get tired of fiddling with things that should "just work" instead of being able to get on with things and start using the computer for what it's intended for. That said, it's also great for tweaking and fiddling with settings, trying out new things and generally being configurable if you're so inclined - it just doesn't force you to. The default fresh install is user friendly and clears a lot of things out of your way to let you get to work.

Grady

113 users found this useful.

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Fantastic OS, I believe Linux Mint strikes the right balance between being an OS designed for new Linux users, while also being comfortable and customisable enough for power users.
It's not without it's faults, the Nemo file manager that's the default for Cinnamon has some performance issues, and the display settings doesn't have a screen refresh rate option, and it doesn't come with the absolute latest versions of NVIDIA's drivers for NVIDIA GPUs (easily fixed). But all three of those issues are on the developer's radar and they are working on them. Aside from that, I can't think of any other faults I'd call out for Linux Mint.
For it's positives, I'd say it's flagship DE is very comfortable for anyone coming from Windows 7/10 and looking for a cozy familiar experience, with excellent sane defaults, while at the same time highly customisable, so you can tweak it as much or as little as you like. The system settings, main menu, software centre and update manager are all fantastic and very user friendly. The update manager has a nice simple big button for installing the listed available updates for your system, and if you dive into the settings you can setup automatic updates if you want them. Also comes with a handy 'Timeshift' tool for making backups of your system to restore to, in case anything breaks.
Linux Mint is a very stable distro and generally it's unlikely you'll ever have an update land on your PC that breaks anything, which is something I really appreciate. Also comes with a lot of stuff out of the box that you'll need, such as media codecs, etc. Linux Mint Cinnamon is the main option and great, Linux Mint Xfce is also a good option for those with lower spec laptops or PCs that are looking for something 'lighter' on the hardware. Linux Mint is definitely my first recommendation for anyone new to Linux looking to get started, if you want the softest journey you can have.

David

89 users found this useful.

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Came from Windows XP / 7 to Linux Mint 17 and am now running Linux Mint 19.1 on all my computers. Linux Mint was the most "windows like" linux distribution I found that was easy to setup, run and maintain.

Mike

Jake

132 users found this useful.

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If you are new to Linux and your are looking for a beginner friendly distro that work out of the box look no farther! Its quick speedy and stable. Ive been using Linux for almost 4 years no and I always come back to Linux Mint because everything just works and it has well earned that reputation due to the LM Devs that work there butts off to make a solid distro. They are heavily focused on privacy and making Linux approachable to new comers!

Mentat

111 users found this useful.

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I've been recommending this to friends who want to try out Linux and have only known Windows. It's very user friendly and average users can probably avoid a terminal altogether. I'd recommend using their Cinnamon desktop environment is well-polished and light weight. Also, the System Settings are more intuitive than some other DEs, which is always a bonus.

Timmy Pasi

thebats

126 users found this useful.

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Linux Mint is the best way to introduce anyone to the world of Linux. It is the best distro for people coming from Windows. Mint is stable, relatively up to date with a very intuitive UI (Cinnamon DE). Mint usually works out of the box with minimum efforts needed to install in minutes.